Dairying, Housing : More on Resource Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

Irrigation [lincoln.ac.nz]

█ Interpretation of the existing RMA has led to dairy intensification destroying waterways and threatening public health and welfare, in large measure.
A bit of a tour….

### Stuff.co.nz Last updated 14:29, March 23 2016
Canterbury rumbly-gut outbreak linked to dairying
By Pat Deavoll
An outbreak of “rumbly-gut” among communities in Canterbury has Waikato veterinarian and agri-ecology consultant Alison Dewes concerned. She thinks the outbreak is the result of dairy intensification and irrigation contaminating public drinking water. Thirty per cent of the region’s shallow wells have already experienced an increase in nitrogen and pathogen levels after 10-15 years of irrigation on shallow lighter soils, she says. “We have the highest rates of ecoli diseases in the world, and the highest rate of campylobacter, cryptosporidia and giardia in communities in the Hinds region. We have the highest rates of zoonoses (disease spread from animals to humans) in the world in some of the irrigated/dairy catchments like Selwyn and Hinds and the government is promoting a further 40,000ha of irrigation in an already allocated and at risk catchment. Economics and dairy intensification are trumping public health and welfare.”
Read more

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### NZ Herald Online 8:42 AM Wednesday Mar 9, 2016
40pc of farms fail to lodge consents
By Zaryd Wilson – Wanganui Chronicle
Forty per cent of dairy farms required to lodge a resource consent application with Horizons Regional Council have not done so. A total of 229 dairy operations were required to have lodged an application by January 1 this year under the regional council’s One Plan, which aims to limit nitrogen pollution of waterways. The One Plan – adopted by the council in 2014 – limits nitrogen leaching by intensive farm operations, namely dairy, commercial horticulture, cropping and intensive sheep and beef farming. Figures released to the Chronicle under the Official Information Act reveal that only 137 of the 229 dairy operations which came under new rules have lodged consent applications. The new rules took effect on July 1 last year, and farms had six months – up until January 1 – to apply.
Read more

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Wetlands [nzarm.org.nz]

26.11.15 NZH: Resource Management Act reforms to be introduced
The Government will introduce its long awaited Resource Management Act reforms to Parliament next week after securing the support of the Maori Party. The reforms to the country’s main planning document stalled two years ago when National’s support partners refused to back them because of their potential impact on the environment.

Ministry for the Environment

█ About the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
This page has information on the amendments proposed in 2015 to the Resource Management Act 1991.

█ Resource Legislation Amendment Bill [New Zealand Legislation website]
The Resource Legislation Amendment Bill (the Bill) was introduced to Parliament on 26 November 2015.

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Leading New Zealand law firm Chapman Tripp say:
OPINION Most of the provisions in the Bill have been telegraphed in advance so there is little to surprise. If passed as drafted, it has the capacity to reduce costs and speed up planning processes – but probably only at the margins. For more radical and meaningful change we may have to await the results of the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into urban planning (see Chapman Tripp’s commentary here, dated 2.11.15).

RMA Reform Bill – busy with change but less than National wanted
Chapman Tripp 26 November 2015
OPINION The ‘phase two’ RMA reforms, initially to have been passed in 2014, have now finally been introduced to Parliament as the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill. The Bill is a busy piece of legislation running to more than 200 pages, and aims to help streamline planning and consenting processes. But National has had to abandon its proposals to remove the “hierarchy” some saw as enshrined in the existing Part 2 of the RMA, promoting environmental values ahead of economic development in sections six and seven. After the loss of the Northland seat to Winston Peters in March, it does not have the votes to get the wider and more far-reaching changes through. We look at the Bill:
Major changes
● Requiring councils to follow national planning templates (once such templates are available) with standardised provisions across the country.
● A range of measures aimed at producing faster, more flexible planning processes. These include: tighter timelines for plan production and the introduction of two new tracks – a collaborative track and a streamlined track.
● Reduced requirements for consents – allowing councils discretion not to require a resource consent for minor changes, creating a new 10 day fast-track for simple consents and eliminating the need for an RMA consent when consenting is provided for in other legislation.
● Stronger national direction – especially in relation to hot-button issues like providing for new housing or addressing dairy stock in rivers.
Read more

Blue skies review for urban planning – the take-off
Chapman Tripp 15 January 2016
OPINION The blue skies review into urban planning has now left the runway, with the release by the Productivity Commission before Christmas of an issues paper seeking feedback on possible directions for change.

Takes the Cake | What Dairy Crisis ? #DUD #PropertySpeculation

Updated post – audio links added below
Mon, 21 Mar 2015 at 7:48 p.m.

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WHERE ARE THE PERMANENT JOBS, DUNEDIN

Real estate across the city is suddenly booming for the first time since 2007.

### radionz.co.nz 8:05 am on 18 March 2016
Is Dunedin out of the doldrums?
By Ian Telfer – Otago reporter
Dunedin has been economically stagnant so long that no-one is brave enough to declare the gloomy times over. But all the signs say it is out of the economic doldrums it has been in for 10 years.
The city is enjoying booms in real estate, tourism and niche technology industries such as video gaming. A report from economic monitoring company BERL shows 1770 new jobs have been created in the city in the past two years and Dunedin’s economy is now growing at 1.3 percent a year per capita.
[…] An example of the city’s turnaround is Highland Park in Mosgiel, Dunedin’s first major housing subdivision in many years. Today, 100 tradespeople are on site, building 25 homes.
The subdivision’s developer Syd Brown said they set themselves a decade to sell 225 sections, but the demand is so strong they are two-thirds sold and three years ahead of schedule. “It’s racing ahead for us. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and think ‘is this real?’, but that’s the market at the moment, and the demand is here,” Mr Brown said. Mr Brown said 60 percent of the people buying were from out of town, mainly from Christchurch and other South Island locations, such as Ashburton and Timaru.
Read more

### radionz.co.nz 8:49 am on 18 March 2016
RNZ National – Morning Report
Dunedin out of doldrums for the first time in a decade
8:36 AM. Dunedin’s economy is sailing out of the doldrums for the first time in 10 years.
Audio | Download: Ogg  MP3 (4′13″)

QUESTIONS : What did Syd Brown have to do to convert rural zoned land to residential zoned land ? How did a position on council enable zone changes, new roading and infrastructure services to benefit these properties ?

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[the blurb]

Highland Park is an exciting new community located in the heart of the Taieri and is set to redefine living standards in the Otago region. Seamless integration with Mosgiel’s rich Scottish tradition, Highland Park properties express qualities of modern urban living right on the doorstep of Dunedin city. With a high level of amenities and land and home packages to suit all, Highland Park offers a unique lifestyle defined by openness, green spaces, and a nurtured sense of community.

All section packages are designed to take the hassle and stress out of building a new home. Every section with Highland includes:
• Quality Timber Fences
• Professionally Installed Vehicular Crossings
• Storm Water Discharge Connections
• All Services To The Boundary … Including Fibre
Sections are priced with services as above and with flexible land and home packages available to suit all lifestyles, there has never been a better time to move out to the Taieri.

[click to enlarge]

DCC Webmap – Highland Park, Mosgiel JanFeb 2013

GROAN – #ImpoverishedSubdivisionDesign #UrbanSprawl
Shades of 1940s-style cul de sac living without neighbourhood amenity, includes migration from central Dunedin to flat sections (urban drift). It looks bad, and is. ‘Browning’ the greenfields.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: whatifdunedin – Syd Brown + Mosgiel sign

tagging / graffiti crimes

### ODT Online Sat, 15 Jan 2011
Mass clean-up follows holiday graffiti spate
By Hamish McNeilly
A mass clean-up is under way to rid Dunedin of graffiti after a spate of tagging during the Christmas break. Keep Dunedin Beautiful co-ordinator Darlene Thomson said there had been a “lot of complaints” since Christmas, and Taskforce Green workers had removed much of the reported graffiti.

Dealing with tagging
• Report incidents to police.
• Take a photograph of the graffiti for police records.
• Remove it as soon as possible so the tagger does not get street credit for their work; graffiti is also easier to remove.
• Plant creeping vines or trees to eliminate wall space and protect fences.
• Good lighting will discourage offenders.

Read more + Images

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr